Bio

Justin Bishop, who is in his seventh year with Columbia College, will lead the Men's & Women's Cross Country teams and the Women's Track & Field team as Head Coach. 

Over the previous six years, the Women's Cross Country and Track & Field teams have broken 69 school records, seven Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) records, and produced 22 individual conference champions, nine NAIA national qualifiers, and four All-Americans. The Koalas Women's Indoor Track & Field team has also won four AAC team championships, including two back-to-back occurances (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) and one AAC Outdoor Track and Field championship (2022).

The Koalas made history in 2019 by cracking the Top 25 in the US Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's Indoor Track & Field national rankings poll, the first time in program history. In the 2022season, the Women's Track & Field team ranked as high as #11 in the Indoor season and #14 in the Outdoor season. In 2021 & 2022, the Koalas also had the #1 ranked racewalk program in the NAIA.

Bishop has guided his athletes at the USA Track & Field (USATF) club level to 11 USATF Masters National Championships. He has also coached 2 Duathlon, 1 Paralympic, and 1 Triathlon National Champions, along with South Carolina Road Racing State Champions in the 5K, 15K, and half marathon distances. He has coached 10 national champions, one world record holder, and placed four women on the USA National Track & Field team in the Duathlon and Triathlon.

Competing as an open athlete, Bishop has won three National Championships, and as a Masters athlete he has won four North American Championships and 49 National Championships.

Bishop is a member of the USA National Team for Masters track & field. He has 17 years of coaching experience ranging from high school, NCAA Division III, and USATF clubs.

In 2007, Bishop set the American Record for the single-day double decathlon. He has qualified for the Boston Marathon 11times. In 2014, Bishop was the fastest South Carolina resident to finish the Boston Marathon (2:42:34). In 2015 and 2016, he was named the USATF Masters Athlete of the Year for the men's 30-39 age division and is a USATF certified Level 2 coach. Bishop and was trained by the 1976 US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Jim Bowles.

Over the last eight years, Coach Bishop has trained 14 athletes to qualify for their first-ever Boston Marathon.